Is Vancouver's shiny, new Canada Line worth the price?
Brian Hutchinson, National Post
Published: Tuesday, August 18, 2009
VANCOUVER -- Already boastful of their city's natural beauty and its status as the world's best in almost everything, Vancouverites have found reason to be even more insufferable.
On Monday, the city's new light metro system was opened to the public. Completed on budget and some 100 days ahead of schedule, it is the latest in a roster of municipal mega-projects to launch this year, and accompanies new bridges, highways and Olympic Winter Games facilities.
The 19-kilometre Canada Line connects downtown Vancouver to suburban Richmond and to Vancouver International Airport, making it the first airport in Canada to be serviced directly with passenger rail. According to local braggadocios, this has caused a rash of "airport transit envy" in bigger, more mature centres such as Toronto and Montreal.
But building the $2.05-billion line was a long and frequently painful pursuit. There were many bumps en route. Some merchants along the line saw their businesses fail during a disruptive construction process that began in 2005. Worse, one construction worker died last year when the crane he was operating tipped and fell. And there are plenty of armchair transit experts who claim the Canada Line will not meet its target of 100,000 passengers a day by 2010.
No one is thrilled with the huge price tag, the majority of which will be paid by taxpayers, at municipal, provincial and federal levels. The line's designer, builder, and operator - a private joint venture company that contributed $720-million to the construction - will receive an undisclosed amount of subsidy, funded by taxpayers, should ridership not meet projections.
Meanwhile, the publicly funded transit company that has authority for the line is teetering, financially. TransLink carries $1.82-billion in long-term debt, is bracing for a $95-million budget deficit this year, and requires additional income of $450-million a year, over the next decade, just to maintain current service levels and implement planned improvements.
Should it continue operating without a massive annual revenue boost, TransLink will be "forced" to make "aggressive adjustments to its service plans," according to its latest annual report, released this spring.
The Canada Line is something this city can't really afford. It may not even be feasible over the long term. But for the moment, while the rail cars are still shiny new, it is boosting local pride.
On Monday, some 85,000 people came to ride the rails for free. Queues began to form four hours before the inaugural 1 p.m. departure from the downtown Waterfront Station.
Local artist Henry Jung hoped to be on the first run. He joined the queue at 10 a.m. By noon, his feet were sore. He was thirsty and hungry. He quit the line-up and visited Vancouver's extravagant new $883-million convention centre instead.
We met on the Canada Line on Tuesday. No more free rides; no line-ups to get on board. The 9 a.m. departure was not half full. Mr. Jung hogged two front-row seats.
The Canada Line, like Vancouver's two older light metro lines, is automated and does not require drivers, so passengers at the front of the two-car trains enjoy terrific views.
I squeezed in beside him. We pulled away from underground Waterfront Station and headed south, beneath Vancouver's downtown office towers.
"Nice train," I said.
"Nice?" He seemed surprised. "It's more than nice. It's great."
We zipped along in silence for a while.
"It's got new train smell," said Mr. Jung, approvingly.
The train continued underground, through trendy Yaletown, then under False Creek and the busy Cambie Street corridor.
Mr. Jung began to sway. "Too many curves," my seatmate snapped suddenly. "Does the track have to be so bendy?"
The train emerged from its long tunnel and into the open air. Mr. Jung looked relieved and inhaled deeply. We crossed a bridge that spans the Fraser River and glided to the next station, attached to a casino. The busiest and most lucrative casino in British Columbia. Mr. Jung disembarked.
On to the airport, the end of the line. The trip from downtown Vancouver took just under half an hour, and cost $3.75 (although a special surcharge of at least $2 is expected to be added next year). About 30 passengers left the train, a few of them with luggage.
"I'm not flying nowhere," said Ian McOscar, who stood smoking a cigarette outside the airport station. He brandished a $45 annual transit pass, sold to seniors with low incomes. "I'm just a lifetime transit user, out for a ride." An expert, in other words.
So what does he think? Is the Canada Line worth the $2-billion?
"You bet it is," said Mr. McOscar. "We've got the only train in Canada that runs to an airport, did you know? You can't beat that."
National Post
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http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1906149
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